Tourist season records hitting new highs

A strong influx of visitors at the height of the traditional tourism season in Southwest Florida is prompting predictions the region will likely shatter records again this year.

By JUSTINE GRIFFINjustine.griffin@heraldtribune.com

A strong influx of visitors at the height of the traditional tourism season in Southwest Florida is prompting predictions the region will likely shatter records again this year.

Tourism officials say hotels are booked nearly to capacity through Easter — typically the end of season — while local businesses and attractions are reaping the benefits of the short-term swell in population.

"There's no doubt that March is the busiest time of the year, with spring break on top of a busy spring training season," said Elliott Falcione, executive director for the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitor's Bureau. "We've seen a strong increase in the sports tourism segment, and growth still coming from the amount of international travelers, too."

Thanks to the afterglow of Siesta Key Beach's designation as No. 1 beach nationwide, an improving economy and renewed marketing efforts, Southwest Florida is on pace to beat visitor records in 2013.

Recent accolades also have spurred interest, including Siesta Key's No. 2 ranking on a list of top U.S. beaches by Tripadvisor.com, a popular travel website.

Successful winter tourism seasons are critical to Southwest Florida's economy, because tourism is the region's single biggest industry, accounting for one in every seven jobs and millions of dollars in sales taxes.

Statewide, the visitor business is equally important. In 2012, tourists spent a record $71.8 billion in Florida, according to data from Visit Florida, the state's tourism agency. It was the first time since 2007 that spending has eclipsed pre-recession levels.

Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, the county's tourism agency, expects modest growth of 3 percent in 2013, following a fiscal year in which visitor numbers rose in Sarasota County by 8 percent and direct spending rose by nearly 14 percent.

"I think there's just been a strong pent-up demand by people wanting to get away," Haley said. "We're seeing a lot of residual tourists, too — people who booked last-minute vacations but couldn't find exactly what they wanted are showing up a second time."

In Manatee County, officials are predicting tourism growth of about 5 percent, much of that being fueled by international visitors, Falcione said.

In fiscal year 2012, which ended Sept. 30, the number of visitors rose 9.3 percent, while direct expenditures spiked by nearly 13 percent.

So far in 2013, Manatee has experienced a 25 percent jump in the number of visitors to the region from the United Kingdom and Germany, Falcione said.

No vacancies

More than just a trend that boosts first-quarter bottom lines, hoteliers and vacation rental owners say March is often a bellwether.

At the Best Western Plus Gateway Siesta Key, hotel rooms are completely sold out for weekends in March, said general manager Maria Bankemper.

That will help the 121-room hotel, on South Tamiami Trail near Stickney Point Road, in Sarasota County, offset $1.5 million spent last year to upgrade rooms and its lobby.

"We are experiencing sold-out dates in advance, but none of this is truly unusual activity for us during March," Bankemper said. "This is the time of year that a hotel property will use as its barometer for the rest of the year."

In Sarasota County, 90 percent of all rooms are usually booked during the month, historical data shows.

Last year, hotels were at nearly 95 percent occupancy in March — the highest level in more than seven years.

Area operators say they may even surpass that average in 2013. Typically, hotels are profitable when 65 percent to 75 percent of rooms are consistently booked.

"So far it's been a strong season, definitely a little better than last year," said Alan Wells, general manager of Island Breeze Inn and Island Sun Inn, two Venice Beach properties with 58 rooms between them. "We're full on weekends, and if we're not full in the morning, we usually are by the end of the day."

"Calls about rental properties spiked about four weeks ago, as we began to approach spring break, and now we have nothing available, from Boca Grande to Anna Maria Island," he said.

Though February and March are typically the firm's busiest months for rentals, this year's bookings have been boosted by extreme cold snaps and brutal snow storms in northern states.

"There is a correlation between the blizzards up north and the heavy traffic down here," Heatherman said.

Attractions bolstered too

At Eat Here's four area sites, wait times for tables have been longer than ever this season.

"Different locations have different seasons, but March is the classic height of season," said owner Sean Murphy.

He notes his beachside restaurants on Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island tend to have longer visitor seasons than downtown Sarasota.

"But our numbers are up across the board over last year, even though the weather outside has been a little chilly," said Murphy, who also owns the award-winning Beach Bistro restaurant on Anna Maria Island.

At Marie Selby Botanical Gardens near downtown Sarasota, attendance is up by more than 1,000 visitors from the same period in 2012, said spokeswoman Grace Carlson. She attributes the bump in visitors this year to the cooler weather the region has had.

"For us, there's a sweet spot," Carlson said. "You want the weather to be pleasant enough to be outside, but chilly enough that you don't want to exactly go to the beach," she said.